Should we buy a riding lawn mower yet?

Hi everyone! I haven't posted in a long time. Hope everyone is doing well But I have some questions for you guys. We started our lawn business last year in AUG. We did pretty well for just a 'part time business'. I do a lot of the advertising and my hubby and I go and do the work...after our regular jobs and on weekends, of course. We didn't do anything in dec-feb, but now we are getting many calls again. We eventually want to get employees, but need some help on what we can do to "move up". We have some regulars and plan on advertising in our local news paper. My hubby is really pushing for us to buy a riding mower, he says it will get the jobs done a lot faster. I agree, but they are so expensive and don't wanna make a mistake. Should we buy used? where can we find the good deals and which brand do you recommend?? Right now we have. 2 push mowers, 2 gas backpack blowers, gas edger, 2 weekeaters, 16 foot trailer with 4 foot gate, 12 foot pole saw for tree trimming, 2 chain saws, 20 foot ladder, and a hedge trimmer. Thanks!

Lawn care business tips

Well my advice and experience with riding mowers is that if you are looking at just a normal steering rider stop, and start looking at the zero turns, they will seriously cut everything in half once you get use to the way they work. I have use the brands John Deere, Dixie Chopper, and Scag. If I were to rank them in the order I like they would be: 3.Dixie Chopper 2.John Deere 1.Scag I own 2 scags and will never use anything else again. I have one that is 48" and another that is 61". The 48" is going on its 6th season and I have never had to do anything to it other than regular maintance and I just bought the 61" this past December. If you are seriously looking at getting a new or used I would go new because you will know what the mower has been through when you use it. But the time you should buy one is in the winter about the end of December, I save about $1,000 on my 61". All 3 that I listed are expensive mowers but you will get what you for it. As in the Dixie Choppers are very fast mowers (that is how they advertise for them), John Deere well the name speeks for its self but I think you will end up paying a lot for the green paint. The Scag mowers in my opinion are just the better made mower you can go to the web site at www.scag.com and it will tell you all you need to know about it (more than I can tell you). Happy choosing. Hope I helped you out some.

[All Aspects Landscaping]

definately go with a ztr... your productivity will be very high.. as for brand, i run all exmark, because my dealer is 2 mins from my shop. Make sure whatever you buy, there is a dealer close with parts. good luck!!

I run with only push mowers. None of the lawns in my area warrant the purchase of a riding mower, unless I was going to start aiming for some of the larger mansions around me or huge commercial jobs. I already have a wide array of residential and commercial clients, and there's really no value in buying a riding mower for me.

I'd look at the size of the lawns you mow and ask whether it's really necessary...that would be my main criterion in deciding.

If you are looking to cut time go with any ZTR (Zero turn rider) I like hustler turf they have a very fast great quality machine

[makbootzy]

Im just starting out and went with a cheaper RZT by Cub Cadet its a 22hp engine with a 50" cut...I paid $2800 for mine but home depot has them for $3000. I think that it was a good choice to start with as commercial duty ztr`s run about double that. I will get a commercial mower once I get an idea of how much business I get.

[justin_time]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (JODY84 @ April 01 2008,6:10)]Hi everyone! I haven't posted in a long time. Hope everyone is doing well

But *I have some questions for you guys.

We started our lawn business last year in AUG. We did pretty well for just a 'part time business'. I do a lot of the
advertising and my hubby and I go and do the work...after our regular jobs and on weekends, of course. We didn't do anything in dec-feb, but now we are getting many calls again. We eventually want to get employees, but need some help on what we can do to "move up". We have some regulars and plan on advertising in our local news paper.

My hubby is really pushing for us to buy a riding mower, he says it will get the jobs done a lot faster. I agree, but they are so expensive and don't wanna make a mistake.

Should we buy used? where can we find the good deals and which brand do you recommend??

Right now we have. 2 push mowers, 2 gas backpack blowers, gas edger, 2 weekeaters, 16 foot trailer with 4 foot gate, 12 foot pole saw for tree trimming, 2 chain saws, 20 foot ladder, and a hedge trimmer.

Thanks!

I currently have a Husqvarna residential version. I wouldn't suggest a residential verison if your using it as a commercial. I am considering trading it to a John Deere x300 are a bit more heavy duty than the residential mowers they sell at Home Depot.

That's just my tought.